A supportive, small-town crowd had cornered him in the back when a question arose about the balanced budget deal signed just months before.
No, Boehner said, the agreement was not perfect. And yes, Republicans had to bargain with President Clinton on some issues to close the deal. Grumbling percolated through the crowd holding Styrofoam coffee cups.
Then Boehner, characteristically crisp in voice and dress, offered a most uncharacteristic explanation of the compromise: ``The system works,'' he said.
Just like that.
Not so many years ago, Boehner would have choked on those words. Or, perhaps more likely, choked the status-quo jockey who dared say them in his presence. He would have been forceful and articulate. Maybe even a little mean.
Now, it's part of his standard back-home speech. He said it again during lunch at the Kiwanis Club in Greenville. Boehner says the system works. Now that's news.
``No, I guess I never thought that day would ever happen,'' he said.
That day has happened because the Republican Party took over the majority in Congress in 1994 and, therefore, owns the system. The system even has Boehner's name on it since he was elected by his GOP colleagues to the job of Republican Conference Chairman, the fourth-highest leader in the House hierarchy.
But it's more than that. Boehner is not exactly who he was when he arrived in Congress in 1990, looking for blood. His outlook has broadened. Not ideologically, he assures, but personally.
``I have a greater appreciation for the internal dynamic of what makes this place work, how it operates,'' he said. ``And an appreciation of just how human this institution is. It's filled with human beings who have great strengths and great weaknesses.''
He might not have said that seven years ago, either. ``I don't think my values, my principles, have changed at all. Perspective is a lot different.''
It's been a tough year for the GOP, a high-drama mix of achievement and infighting. And what's unclear today is whether the holiday recess that has Congress home until late January will mark an end to the schizophrenia - and the questions it raises about Boehner's future - or just a temporary break from it.
He loves the road
Slipping down a rural highway in southwestern Ohio in his quiet Acura sedan, Boehner seemed comfortable. He loves to drive, takes vacations in a friend's camper and relishes the road time. Something about being at the wheel, the highway, the scenery, the control, maybe. In another life, he said, he could have been Charles Kuralt, the meandering television journalist who made his career on the road in America.
``I love to see everything,'' Boehner said.
But as the scenes whizzed by, it was clear Boehner is not entirely of this farming world he represents. He lives in a golf course subdivision in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester; his 8th District constituents live in farmhouses at the end of long driveways. He's a Brooks Brothers congressman in a dungarees district.
When you think about Boehner as a well-dressed misfit, you see why he uses Yoder's, the maritime bar and diner in the middle of soybean country, for campaign stops and voter meetings. Yoder's works its nautical theme very hard, but when not far from the Indiana line, sharing highway frontage with turkey farms, having a nautical theme is going to require a lot of work.
That suits Boehner, who fits himself into this region through will power and salesman hustle. He's a member of the House Agriculture Committee, though on leave while serving in leadership, but he readily admits he'll never know ag policy as well as the people who sent him to Washington.
He said he only promised to work hard to understand their needs. Last year he won re-lection with 70 percent of the vote.
``To look at him, you don't see it,'' said fellow Ohio Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield. ``You don't realize how determined and how hard-working he is.''
Friends do. Al Busemeyer, 59, has known Boehner since the congressman was a husky high school linebacker. ``That's John. If he believes in something, he will not back down.''
Growing into the role
That's how Boehner became part of the Gang of Seven, a rabble-rousing band of freshman representatives, when he first arrived in Washington. The group assaulted sacred cows, most notably by insisting upon wide publicity of the House banking scandal. The gang wanted names named for every member who had overdrafts on their House banking account. People were embarrassed, elections were lost, and the House bank was closed forever.
Then Boehner got GOP rules changed so senior members couldn't horde power by holding top slots in both committees and subcommittees. To the chagrin of older Republicans, the change diffused authority within the party, giving younger members some of the all-important control of legislation.
``He's an 'enough is enough' kind of guy, which is important,'' said Rep. William Goodling, a senior Republican from Pennsylvania who was ensnared by the banking scandal and nearly lost his seat. ``He's very capable.''
Boehner deals in absolutes. He's of the do-it-right-or-don't-do-it-at-all school, convinced that people do more to slow their own success than all the external factors that get the blame.
``I don't make commitments I can't keep,'' Boehner said. ``That's something a guy taught me when I was a young salesman. You know, don't make open-ended promises: `Oh, we ought to have lunch sometime.' Well, no. We're either going to have lunch or we're not going to have lunch.''
To keep up, he prowls the Capitol with a note card in his jacket pocket. Somebody needs something, he writes it down. He agrees to do something, he writes it down.
But conversations about Boehner don't often go very far without addressing his polished exterior. Even at Yoder's, he wears a suit.
A friend in his neighborhood punctuates his stories about the early campaign days with "he's a good-looking guy" enthusiasms that he says explain some of Boehner's popularity. You know, who wouldn't take a campaign flier from a guy who looks like Boehner working the gate at a high school football game?
And, of course, Boehner helps his natural looks with effort; attention to detail. He's legendary for his neatness.
``Well, I'm kind of a structured guy,'' Boehner admitted. ``My wife's never picked up the first article of my clothing in 24 years. Not once. Not once. My car is clean. My garage is clean. My closet is organized. My dressers are organized.''
There's a rumor around Capitol Hill that Boehner goes through two dress shirts every day. He rolled his eyes at the question, as if it were out of left field, but he knows the gossip. ``I've never, never. Not once!'' he said, pointing a finger for emphasis. ``I'm German. Frugal. It costs a buck a shirt to get them cleaned.''
Goals are clear
There's another rumor, one he does not dispel, but lets stew, that he hopes one day to be Speaker of the House.
``I have made a decision that my future is here,'' he said, referring to the House of Representatives. ``I'm not interested in running for the Senate, I'm not interested in running for governor. I enjoy the opportunity to serve in the leadership, and look forward to moving up the leadership ladder. Whether you get a chance to be speaker or not is something that only time will tell.''
He is the most junior member of the four-member House leadership team. Speaker Newt Gingrich is in his 10th term in office, and Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay both are in their seventh terms. This is Boehner's fourth.
But it isn't all rosy for the packaging company executive who left the company he built to become a congressman. He was vilified a year ago when it was revealed that he had distributed campaign contribution checks from a tobacco company to members of Congress on the House floor, a well-understood no-no.
In July, Boehner was accused of joining a group of Republican dissidents, included fellow leaders Armey and DeLay, who were plotting to remove Gingrich from the speakership.
For days, the aftermath of the coup attempt dominated Capitol Hill, and as Gingrich moved to reassert control it was not clear how many heads he would take.
He settled on one: A New Yorker named Bill Paxon, an appointed member of Gingrich's leadership team, was asked to resign his spot in the inner circle.
Boehner ultimately fended off the taint of conspiracy by proving that while he did talk with the dissident group a couple of times - something that would be part of his job as a consensus builder for the GOP - he didn't attend a pivotal late-night meeting when an overthrow plan was discussed.
When the intrigue ended, Boehner had been given Paxon's roomy Capitol office, allowing Boehner to abandon his well-appointed shoe box. An office in the Capitol is a perk of political power, and a new, bigger office is a sign of high political favor, but Boehner won't say what the upgrade means.
``It means I've got a nicer view from the Capitol, a nicer view of the Washington Monument,'' he said. ``The speaker knows that I wasn't involved in this effort to get rid of him. I think he wanted to kind of demonstrate some good will toward me and send a little message to some folks.
``And the room was available.''
But dissatisfaction with Gingrich, and therefore, his crew, has not entirely abated, and there's no guarantee Boehner's star will continue to rise.
Two of the more vocal members of Congress declined to discuss Boehner for this article, and one specifically refused a chance to say something complimentary. He said he didn't relish talking about his House bosses, but days later he was quoted in a newspaper praising another member of leadership.
Even Hobson, who came into Congress with Boehner and speaks nothing but praise for his work, couldn't say that Boehner's future is assured in leadership. ``I don't know, and you won't know until the next election.''
The GOP in Congress is riddled with mavericks. The young Turks elected in the past three years have ambition, and now, because of some of the changes driven by Boehner when he arrived, they have authority.
And they're still after the system.
``I think it's unfair of people to talk about him and not realize what John has done,'' Hobson said. ``John was willing to stand up at a time when it was not really easy to stand up and challenge the system.''
JOHN BOEHNER
* AGE: 48
* POSITION: Chairman of the Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives, the fourth-highest position in the House.
* PERSONAL: Married, two daughters.
* HOME: West Chester
* HISTORY: Graduated from Xavier University and took over a small company, Nucite Sales, Inc., that sold product packaging. Served as a Union Twp. trustee before serving three terms in the Ohio General Assembly. Ran for Congress in 1990 and his been re-elected ever since.
(#2) Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, (left) is shown with Rep. Bill Archer, R-Texas, (center) and Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, on Capitol Hill in July. This summer Boehner was accused of joining a group of Republican dissidents who were plotting to remove House Speaker Newt Gingrich. (B&W)
CREDIT: DENNIS COOK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
(#3) (Map) Ohio's 8th Congressional District (B&W)
CREDIT: DAYTON DAILY NEWS
CONTACT Scott Montgomery at (202) 887-8328 or e-mail him at
scottm@coxnews.com